Is It Edible
by suzie2b
Summary: Sequel to "SPAM".


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Author's note: This came about because of tullyfan's review of "SPAM".**

 **Is It Edible**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **The German scout column pulled into a waterhole for a much needed respite from the desert heat. The morning had been quiet and uneventful. Captain Hans Dietrich told his men to relax, eat, and above all else hydrate. The last thing they needed was for any of the men to collapse from dehydration. The captain decided he would give them thirty minutes before assigning men to a water detail.**

 **Dietrich had just settled himself onto the running board of his staff car, when one of his men hurried over and told him about the body. With a sigh, the captain followed the private back to where the skeletal remains lay half buried in the sand. It was wearing what was left of a German army uniform. Dietrich asked, "Hundemarken?" The private knelt and carefully pushed sand away from the neck and chest area. He found a set of dog tags and handed them to the captain, who looked at them sadly before putting them in his shirt pocket. He then told the private to take two men and search the waterhole for more bodies.**

 **A while later the three men reported that they weren't sure how many bodies there actually were, as scavengers had scattered most of the bones, but Dietrich was handed a half dozen dog tags. The captain then ordered a burial detail to dig a single grave and gather all of the remains they could find. He then ordered other men to fill the cans and canteens with water. Plus, though it was apparent that this incident had happened a week or more before and they hadn't seen any activity in the area while on patrol, Captain Dietrich ordered several men to keep watch.**

 **Having lost his appetite for both food and relaxation, the captain paced around watching his men at work.**

 **Another hour passed before it was reported that everything that had been ordered was finished. Dietrich nodded and said, "Es ist Zeit, auf unserem Weg zu sein."**

 **The word was passed quickly and the men began to get to their vehicles. The captain's driver presented two cans to his commander and asked what they were. "Ich fand diese, Hauptmann. Würden Sie wissen, was sie sind?"**

 **Dietrich took the cans and smiled slightly at the blue and white labeling. He explained that it was a meat product called Spam that the Allies used to supplement their rations. The young driver frowned, as if he wondered if the captain was joking, but Dietrich handed the cans back to the private before he turned and got into the car.**

 **##################**

 **The second half of the day went nothing like the first half. Though they never did run into any Allied patrols—mainly the Rat Patrol—they still ran into trouble. First one halftrack, then another broke down. These delays took time, and after the second breakdown turned fatal for the vehicle, Captain Dietrich ordered all men and supplied loaded into the remaining three.**

 **An hour later the first halftrack that had broken down started to act up again, slowing their progress. Eventually, as the light began to fade, Dietrich decided they were still too far from their base to safely keep going in the dark. He ordered camp to be made and had his radioman contact base to inform them of what was happening. Dietrich listened as their situation was explained along with the fact that they wouldn't be returning to base until morning. He then took note of the hint of amusement in the voice on the other end. The captain simply shook his head and walked away.**

 **Soon thereafter, Captain Dietrich assigned men to sentry duty and two men to make a meal. He took his hat off and set it on the seat of the car before he sat down on the running board. The captain ran his fingers through his hair and scratched an itch on the back of his head as he thought about the day. As he watched his men gather wood and build fires, he wondered about the death of the men at the waterhole. Dietrich didn't remember seeing a report about an incident and loss of life in that area. He leaned forward, forearms on his knees, and said silently to himself, "I wonder which Allies had been out that way. After all, the waterhole is in German held territory." The captain sighed as three words came to mind. "The Rat Patrol."**

 **Captain Dietrich was still lost in thought when one of his men approached and told him there wouldn't be enough rations to go around. He looked up at the man and asked how that could be. "Wie kann das sein?"**

 **The young soldier explained that they had not planned to be out overnight and had only planned for the midday meal. There was only enough food to feed maybe half the men at best.**

 **Dietrich looked quite frustrated as he told the man that next time every contingency would be considered before leaving base. "Ab sofort werden alle Eventualitäten berücksichtigt werden vor der Abreise Basis."**

 **The soldier nodded and said, "Ja, Hauptmann."**

 **As he turned to walk away, Captain Dietrich stopped him as he stood up. He reached into the backseat of the car and retrieved the two cans of spam. The captain handed them to the man and told him to supplement the rations so everyone could eat.**

 **The soldier took the cans and eyed them suspiciously as he wondered what they contained. He asked if it was edible. "Das ist essbar?"**

 **Dietrich replied that if the Allies could eat it, so could they.**

" **Ja, Hauptmann."**

 **The captain watched his man walk away and again sat down on the running board. Soon enough he could see by the fire's light that the spam was being cut up to be added to whatever rations they had to work with. A relatively short time later a plate of steaming food was served to Dietrich with a mug of hot coffee. He looked at the meal tentatively before picking up the fork to scoop up some the hash. That bite was interesting. The tastes were, at first, familiar. Reconstituted potato, onion, carrot, spices, and a bit of meat that he wasn't sure about. But then there was something else. It was cubed, softer in texture than the chewier, unidentifiable meat, a bit salty, flavorful compared to the rest of hash … all-in-all it wasn't bad. The captain didn't have a problem finishing it and actually wished there were enough for seconds. He even wondered if it could be possible to procure some of the canned meat product.**

 **After his meal, Captain Dietrich sat there watching the camp as he finished his coffee. The guards changed and things were settling down for the night. Still too wound up to sleep, it wasn't long before his mind began to wander. It took him back to the waterhole and the dead German soldiers. He silently wondered what two cans of spam had to do with what had happened there. The skeletal remains told them nothing about the way the men had died and the captain had assumed they'd all been shot … but by whom?**

 **Three words came to mind—The Rat Patrol.**


End file.
